Wednesday, 28 April 2010

Thanks everyone for your good luck messages x
......Me test....It was a Nightmare . I was very very nervous...more than i thought i would be. Within the first 5 mininutes i stalled the car entering a roundabout ..which completely flustered me. Straight after that i had to reverse around a corner....well....I started to have a panick attatck 'Haven't had one for about 3 years' ...i didnt just have the shakes my left leg was bouncing up and down out of control, so i couldnt control the clutch...i cocked up...hit the curb, the examiner told me to have a minute...i ended up having to pull forward and reverse ...twice. At this point i assumed i'd failed completely. I just couldn't stop shaking. I stalled the car a few more times after that , each time that i was pulling out of a junction ect. Then about 5 minutes before the end of the test we went down a one way street that was up a bit of a hill, its a narrow road that widens at the end...I was turning right...I don't know what i was thinking but i positioned the car to the left side of the road...then stalled it when trying to set off, id also not put the handbrake on so the examiner had to place his foot on the clutch :(......So obviously i failed :( When i actually got me results...unbelievably the examiner had let me off with soooo many things...i didnt even get a minor for the reverse around the corner, All the times that i'd stalled he'd only even given me one minor for that....what i actually failed on....2 serious faults was what happened at the top of the one way street :( I was convinced i had already failed within the first 10 mins of the test...and it turned out i only actually failed in the last 5 mins. I found out what was causing me to stall though...lol I thought it was because my leg was shaking so much so i couldnt control the clutch properly....and it wasnt........turns out me hand was shaking so much that when i was putting it into 1st gear....i was actually selecting 3rd :( I took me instructor with me...which to be honest didnt help , as each time i looked in me mirror i could see him glaring at me...lol
I'm soooo pissed at myself...for getting in such a state... and for being convinced that id already failed when i hadn't. Whenever i have a panic attatck it always takes me quite a while to get right again, i still felt shaky etc when i got back home, to be honest i don't even know how i managed to carry on with the test. Now iam gonna have to wait until almost the end of june before i can do another, as the 1st available date they even have isnt until 15th june...im away on holiday then so i won't be able to take it again until after that :( Right now i don't even want to do another...i just dont want to go through that again.
I'm proper fed up today :( I still have me challenge card to do for tomorrows Occ sketch challenge and at the moment i just dont feel like doing anything...think im just feeling sorry for myself.
Shaz xxx

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

...At last :) I have been busy 'trying' to make clothes for Chloe...lol and also practicing me driving!! I have my test tomorrow morning 8.20 am.....and to be honest iam s******g myself!! Lol
I've created a couple of things for Chloe and i shall photograph them later in the week:)
I remembered earlier that i hadn't posted this, so thought i'd better get it on here now...before tomorrow arrives !...Arrggggh...Iam sooooooo nervous :(
....Anyhow...the point of this post was for me entry into the new monthly challenge at Sir Stampalot
This months challenge was 'Fantasy' ....well to me that means....Fairies...lol
I looked for me fairie poppet stamps and can't find them :( ...then i remembered some fairie poppet decoupage sheets that i bought maybe 4-5 years ago....lol (I don't do decoupage..haha)
The little Chloe monster loves fairies ...princesses ect...so i decided to create a keepsake for her....to place in her bedroom ....so i made this...

....such a beautiful image

I found the verse online...and it suited this perfectly.

Normally i would make these out of card and the top part would be a point top....however as it is going in Chloe's room i needed something stronger ....so the base and top are all made from chipboard...and the centre pole is hard plastic (that would normall be card too..or an empty foil roll...lol)
I did want to have things hanging down from the top....but i thought that would just be too much of a temptation for Chloe to start pulling at it....so instead i have kept it plain and simple. IRL it looks very pretty and girly....the Chloe monster loves it :)
...Iam so dreading tomorrow...i just hope me nerves calm down a bit ....fingers crossed eh!
TFL
Shaz xxx

Thursday, 22 April 2010

…..to show!
I have been mia *as they say* due to my sis and nephews being down for a few days, plus other things going off. I haven’t crafted anything ‘paper’ wise for a cpl of weeks now:( I’m just fed up of cards…have way to many. I would rather put what little time that i have to good use and create something worthwhile than just rush a load of cards to enter into challenges…..so anyways i have now found a ‘new’ something to take up me time…lol Right now iam enjoying fabric!!! I decided that i wanted to start and try to make some clothes for the little Chloe monster *before she is too big to want to wear anything that mummy made…lol* I Love all the custom boutique clothing that you can buy….but it’s soooo expensive…so i figured that i would have a try at me own…lol I have never made or even attempted to make any sort of clothing before. The only thing that i have ever made is curtains! So armed with a few patterns and some fabrics….my ‘journey’ has begun :) I must say that when the patterns arrived…i didn’t even have a clue what to cut out …where…i was confused…lol So me mam cut some out for me and showed me what to do :) yesterday using one of the patterns we made a swing top and cropped trousers. This set was just a ‘tester’ set to see if it was easy enough and if it fit ect. I used left over fabric from when i created Chloes curtains and bedding. I haven’t taken a photo of it as it was a tester and doesn’t even have any added frills ect. I haven’t been able to create a ‘proper’ set yet as i am waiting for some bias binding to arrive!!! *Like i would have known before that i would have needed the stuff…lol* Today i wanted to create *something* . I’ve had a pair of Chloe’s dungarees that are too short sat there ‘waiting’ to be brought back to life :) So today that’s what i chose to do. It took hours…because on me old cronky machine i have no arm so cannot get the legs around the machine…so apart from doing seems on what would be the frills, i had to do the frills by hand :(
I was gonna attach a bib ‘or whatever ya call it’ to the top section ,but for now i ended up just adding frills around the front pocket edges. Am gonna do ‘somthing’ to the back pocket i think. The little bag was made from one of the cut off ‘legs’ lol Chloe thinks that it’s fab that her bag was a leg……lol
Chloe was posing all over the place for photo’s…i must have done 100…lol
A couple of days ago i also made these hair bows, as she know needs them on bigger clips as all her old ones are on 4cm clips….so i have now done a bigger pair that are on 6cm clips. ‘Think i need to do pink & yellow ones for this outfit’ :)
It may just seem a simple thing that i have done, but they did take quite a while to do, and now it has given them a new lease of life…plus they are unique. I took Far more pleasure from watching Chloe parade about in this outfit than what i would ever get from making a card.
I’ve moved the bit of craft stash that i had in the kitchen into the conservatory. I have thrown out one of the sofas from in here,and added a desk and some craft stash instead…lol It’s way too cold in here in the winter and way too hot in the summer as the whole thing…including the roof is made from glass..(so you could call it a green house…lol) Looking on the bright side is that it is sooo bright in here.
The last couple of months i have coloured soooo many images with the distress inks that it’s about time i started creating things with them…we shall see how it goes:)
TFL
Shaz xxx

Sunday, 11 April 2010

This is a really quickie post, as i just realised that i hadn't photographed or blogged my creation for this weeks Shabby Tea Room Challengeand the new challenge starts tomorrow!
I was thrilled to find that i made Top 3 over there last week...thankyou :)
This weeks challenge was to use maily white or cream and 1 other subtle colour! I wanted to use a bit of pink...lol, but as i always distress stuff with vintage photo ink...i wasn't sure if that would then be classed as using 2 other colours???? ...So i chose to leave out the pink...and just go with the ink.

I made a large gift box.I've made quite a few of these before but never one so big. This was made out of a full sheet of A3 card, its roughly 8" tall.

I forgot to photo it open :( The top flaps all open out so as you can put stuff inside.

I need to make another 1 now as i accidently 'bashed it' when i got it out to photograph,and snagged the top right corner and it ripped a little :(

Thursday, 8 April 2010

The week has flown by sooo fast.It's now time for another sketch over at Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge
Iam a bit 'mad' at myself this week...and feel like a complete 'Donut' Why ??? Cos i created something for this week using the Wrong sketch!!! I only realised my mistake when i went to upload it to the challenge blog and saw that everyone elses was different :( I was just about to head off to bed too, so i ended up having to stay downstairs a while longer and create something else.

I can't say that im all that happy with this card....but...it is what it is...and i didn't wanna 'let the team down' so to speak.

The lighting for the pics was rubbish...and it shows the ribbon to be a bright blue...when actually it's not!!!...IRL it's a similar shade to the paper.

I coloured the image with distress inks...and yes a bit more paper pricking.

Saturday, 3 April 2010

I managed to get a few hours without the little Chloe monster today :) So i took the opportunity to join in with the Stampavie ChallengeThe challenge is easter. Well i don’t ‘do’ easter cards etc but i did have to alter a paper mache box for easter to put some choccies inside to give as a gift…rather than an egg! I find that this is a great way of giving inexpensive gifts to someone.If you have a ‘cheap’ gift,then decorate up a box to give the gift in.That way it makes it more special ,plus the person receiving it not only gets the gift inside, but also a pretty keepsake box. I do this all the time with choccies. I always buy chocs that you can take out of the packaging (ones that are individually wrapped')

…So anyways…heres me ‘easter’ box :)

This gave me an ‘excuse’ to play with one of me gorgeous Sarah Kay images. How i lubs these images as i remember them from childhood *Which no seems like oh so long ago* lol For some reason when i think of easter and create anything for it i always think of the colours blue,yellow,orange and green!! Why ??? Are these easter colours ? *Or am i just weird for thinking that they are?….lol* Either way those are the colours that i used.

I obviously had to do the ‘distressing’ thing with the Mr Holtzy stuff didn’t i , and just a tad of paper pricking…lol I just have to have detail. I think that just by adding tiny details to something it can make it look sodifferent..even if it’s something quite plain. I’ve had this roll of green gingham for like…forever…I know i would use some of it eventually…haha

The pics aren’t so great as it’s dark, so leccy lighting and me flash *Not a great combination* I had to photograph it this evening as in the morning it will have left here….forever

Those chocs are sooooo delish *I just tried 2* haha How could i not..they just screamed Eat me! Eat me! So i obviously obliged ;)

Friday, 2 April 2010

A couple of days ago i came across a NEW challenge blog!….Which just happens to be ‘right up my street’ as they say…lol The Shabby Tea RoomThe name alone made me wanna just go and play :) Also this week their guest designer is only the one and only Melissa Phillips…*Oh how i drool over Melissa’s creations every time i visit her blog*

This week there is a photo for inspiration and the challenge is to use scraps! I have boxes and boxes of scraps…way too many to even go through…lol However i do have a ‘little’ organisation when it comes to ‘certain’ scraps, such as me basic grey paper pads…well i mean ya only get 2 sheets of each don’t ya…so i save every tiny scrap and keep them in the books…haha

So here is what i came up with for this weeks challenge!

I used some scraps from basic grey and some die cut bits and chipboard butterflies from K & Co .I’ve had all these for like…forever.I have loads of die cuts and wotsits and wotnots and yet i never ever use them…I think that’s gonna change.*Think it’s about time i started using some of this stuff*

….And yes i’ve been doing the whole paper pricking thing again…lol It does take quite a while but i Lubs the look of it. Everything was distressed with the Mr Holtzy stuff

The bottom section of the card is blank as a name will be getting added there :)

Thursday, 1 April 2010

I loved the sketch this week! as it gave soooo many possibilities! But then THAT proved to be a problem as i just didn’t know what to make…lol I’m kind of ‘bored’ with making cards right now.There are soooo many things that you create with a bit of card and paper, so why just mainly cards! I tend to do cards just because they are quicker. I hope that i can now start to create ‘Other’ things.

This is what i created using this weeks sketch!

I made a lovely little gift box for a baby girl,just using plain CS and a few basic grey rubons,punches ,nesties , distress ink,pokey tool, flowers and pearls.

All of the paper pricking doing one hole at a time took…FOREVER , seriously it was like never ending…lol ,but i really wanted to have them on every part of it. And the pearl….why oh why didn’t i just use self adhesive ones…lol as these took quite a while to stick on there.

I also used an SU tab punch to add ‘decorative’ tabs to each side. I also added a basic grey rubon to each side too!

I then ran a little ‘glassine’ bag through the cuttlebug to emboss it with swiss dots. Added punched shapes,ribbon and pearls for the closure. Thought this would be a lovely holder for placing a gold bangle /money ect into….then placing the bag into the box. *Shame i know nobody to give this too…LOL*

A close up of the little bag!

I then made a little 5” announcement card…very quick and simple (apart from that pricking…lol*

I even decorated the envelope a little with a couple more rubons…and yes…more pricking…lol

Please POP OVERand have a looksie at the fabulous creations that the other DT girlies have made to give you some inspiration :) *While you are there you could even join in with us*